Iconic Empire State Building dazzles rivals with new lights

After years of being eclipsed by its Manhattan neighbors, the famous Art Deco building has been given a new lease on life with 1,200 newly installed LED lamps

By Sebastian Smith / AFP, NEW YORK

“Each one of these lights are individually addressed. We can actually target each one of these and give it an individual color,” Day said.

Already, some funky experiments have taken place atop the world’s grande dame of skyscraper architecture.

The lights flashed and pulsed in rhythm to a performance by Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys at the unveiling in November. On election night, the spire showed the vote tally in blue and red as US President Barack Obama won a second term.

And this past week, the public was asked to vote on Facebook to choose the seven colors that will comprise the building’s standard palette.

NOT A BILLBOARD

However, Malkin, who has also spent millions on an environmentally friendly retrofit of the Empire State Building, says there is no chance of the skyscraper going too far down the Hong Kong route.

“It’s never going to be for a commercial purpose. It’s not a billboard,” he said.

Day also cautioned against going crazy with the tower’s new toy.

“It’s funny. With all that capability, sometimes I think the best looking shows are the simple ones,” Day said. “Nothing stands out to me like when the whole building’s blue.”